Henry M. Cist
|died= |placeofbirth= Cincinnati, Ohio |placeofdeath= Italy |placeofburial= Spring Grove Cemetery Cincinnati, Ohio |placeofburial_label= Place of burial |image= |caption= |nickname= |allegiance= United States of America Union |branch= Union Army |serviceyears= 1861–1866 |rank= Brevet Brigadier General |commands= none |unit= |battles= American Civil War *Shiloh *Stone's River *Chickamauga *Chattanooga |awards= |relations= |laterwork= author, lawyer, politician }} Henry Martyn Cist (February 20, 1839 – December 16, 1902) was an American soldier, lawyer, and author who became a brevet brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He is most noted for his classic and oft-referenced 1882 book The Army of the Cumberland. In addition, Cist led pioneering efforts to preserve and interpret the sites of the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga. Early life and career Henry Cist was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the younger of two sons of Philadelphia-born author Charles Cist and his wife Janet. His paternal grandfather Charles Cist was an immigrant from St. Petersburg, Russia, who was a printer and publisher in Philadelphia.[http://ohiobios.ancestralsites.com/hamilton_co/b00132.html Henry Howe, Historical Collections of Ohio, 1888, pp. 831-32], scanned version on Ohio Bios, Ancestral Sites.com, accessed 2 Sep 2008 Cist graduated from Farmers College in 1858, and then studied law. He passed his bar exam and became a practicing attorney.Find-a-Grave biography Civil War service With the outbreak of the Civil War, Cist enlisted as a private in the three-month 6th Ohio Infantry. When his term of enlistment expired, he was promoted to second lieutenant in the 52nd Ohio Infantry. He later served as post adjutant of Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio, after the prisoners of war captured at Fort Donelson were transported there following Ulysses S. Grant's victory in February 1862.[http://www.iversonsoftware.com/books-media/books/cj/904879/904879-910.htm Details of Cist's bio, in ad for ebook The Army of the Cumberland] In April 1862, Cist joined the 74th Ohio Infantry as a first lieutenant and became its regimental adjutant, serving under Colonel Granville Moody. He later served as the assistant adjutant general with the rank of captain on the staff of Major General William S. Rosecrans in the Army of the Cumberland. Later he was on the staff of Major General George H. Thomas.Ohio in the Civil War, in list of books on Ohio, Cist's ranks and positions are listed after his name as author In the omnibus promotions issued by the War Department following the end of the Civil War, Cist received three brevet promotions dating from March 13, 1865, to the ranks of major, colonel, and brigadier general of U. S. Volunteers. Postbellum career After mustering out of the army in January 1866, Cist returned to Cincinnati. He established a successful legal practice in that city. He briefly entered politics and lost a hotly contested election for mayor of College Hill, Ohio, that required court action to declare a winner. In 1882, Cist wrote The Army of the Cumberland (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons), what was considered one of the best first-person accounts of that army. He wrote one of the earliest biographies of Union leader "Pap" Thomas, The Life of Gen. George H. Thomas. He also wrote several magazine articles related to Cincinnati during wartime. Cist turned his interest in history to working to have battlefield sites preserved. He served as director of the Chickamauga Memorial Association in 1889, helping gain Congressional authorization in 1890 for the first military park, the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.National Park Service Chickamauga and Chattanooga Administrative History In 1892 Cist served as president of the Ohio Society, Sons of the American Revolution. It is a heritage organization devoted to celebrating the history of the US and especially the meaning of the American Revolution.List of Ohio Society presidents, accessed 2 Sep 2008 After contracting pneumonia while touring Italy, Cist died at the age of 63. His body was returned to Ohio and buried in Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery.Cincinnati Civil War Round Table website See also *List of American Civil War generals Notes References * U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 70 volumes in 4 series. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1880-1901. * [http://ohiobios.ancestralsites.com/hamilton_co/b00132.html Howe, Henry, Historical Collections of Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio: Henry Howe, publisher, 1888.] External links * Official Records; report written to Lt. Cist * Excerpts from Cist's article on "Cincinnati with the War Fever" * * Photo of H.M. Cist in 1863 * Category:Union Army generals Category:People of Ohio in the American Civil War Category:Cincinnati, Ohio in the American Civil War Category:People from Cincinnati, Ohio Category:American military writers Category:Ohio lawyers Category:Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati Category:1839 births Category:1902 deaths